Wooden Whistles

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:03 pm

I am thinking aqbout getting a Wooden Whistle my choices right now are between a Bleazy (I am leaning towards that), a Swanne (to be different and I loved the sound of the Low D I once heard), Busman, and a Sweethear in some form of real wood none of that laminate. I have heard lots of good things about the Bleazys lately and it is also cheaper than some of the above. I have also heard not to get a balckwood Bleazy and would like to know if anyone can comment about that

jsluder · Post by **jsluder** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:13 pm

If he doesn't reply to this thread, you might want to pm IDAwHOa; he's got several Bleazey whistles.

You might also want to consider a Greenwood whistle; they've gotten consistently good reviews. I really like both my Greenwood and my Busmans; excellent whistles. (I'll be selling one of my Busmans in a few days...)

Whichever maker you select, I'm sure you'll enjoy the whistle!

Cheers,
John

chas · Post by **chas** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:54 pm

If you can afford it, see if Bree has any Thin Weasels left. Paul's whistles come close, but there's really nothing else like Glenn's whistles.

Phil's whistles are wonderful; my experience is that you have to lean into them quite a bit toward the upper end of the range. They love to be played with reckless abandon like Glenn's whistles, but my boxwood is also appropriate for airs due to its mellow sound.

My Swayne D is one of my favorite whistles, but it's totally different from the C, which is kind of like a wooden Overton or Harper -- very high backpressure. I think I had to wait close to a year for my Swaynes. He works almost exclusively in boxwood, if that makes a difference to you.

Paul's and David's whistles are wonderful -- I'm more fond of Paul's. They're lighter and I find it easier to get the most out of them, likely because of my fondness for his mentor's whistles.

You might also want to consider Grinter. His D is a narrower bore than most; it has a sweetness to the sound, and although its response is really like lightning, there's an elegance about it that makes it maybe the most appropriate for airs. His low-F is the stuff of legend, but I find his low-G even better.

I'm sure Stephen/Idawhoa will ring in, too. I'm curious to see how our notes compare these days.

barbuck · Post by **barbuck** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:30 pm

I have several wooden whistles & each one has its own nice characteristics. All things considered, the ones that get the most use are my Sweetheart Pro D & Sweetheart Maple C ( got it before they made the Pro in C). The reason - our band plays a lot of tunes in D/G and C/F and these two whistles enable me to make the switch most seemlessly (I guess because they're conical(?)). The hole spacing on the C is almost exactly the same as the D; I don't have to think about which whistle I'm playing & whether I need to stretch my fingers a little further for a clean closure. Also the volume fits our band sound, and they have a very strong low end, which I need on a lot of our songs.

But that's just my needs; everyone has different things they're looking for in a whistle.

alespa · Post by **alespa** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:15 pm

I was thinking about getting a Bleazey blackwood . . . they have some in stock right now . . . is there a reason to consider NOT getting one in blackwood, and WHY would it be any different than a Greenwood, Abell or other blackwood whistle.

matt

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:11 pm

OK, for the record just remember that whistle selection is a PERSONAL thing. You may have to try SEVERAL (read WHOA) before you get that one or two or three that meet you expectations and needs.

I have had a Thin Weasel (blackwood) and a Greenwood (cocobolo) as well as several other wooden whistles.

I chose to stick with the Bleazey's for a couple of reasons: 1) it plays a lot like my Overtons, but with a nice wooden sound 2) they sound great with my Overtons. To us my High D Bleazey sounds a bit breathy while Jessie claims hers was very pure. Terms for describing characteristics can be confused as well though.

Of the two mentioned above (TW and GW) I would get the TW again. I have not tried a Bussman but really would like to some day.

Now, if you are looking to spend a bit less than that for a wooden whistle, why not go for a Lancewood Syn. This is a VERY nice whistle for around $120. Mine gets a good deal of play time. It smells really nice too.

My main sounding board is my wife. If she likes it then it is a keeper.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:48 pm

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out the laminate. I have two Sweetheart Pros, and they are among my favorite whistles.

Redwolf

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:10 pm

You know what would help you guys if I put my preferences in a whistle up. My current favorite is a Burke DASBT but I find it has too little back pressure, back pressure wise the Black Diamond has the best amount of back pressure I have ever played and I usually do like to lean into tunes. I have tried both the Sweetheart Pro D (and Piccolo I like the Picc a lot but already have an old nameless one) and the Busman and to be honest neither really stand out in my mind as amazing whistles what really stands out is an Abell but that is out of my price range and from the sound clips on Phil Hardy's website the Abell and the Bleazy seem pretty similar sounding but the Bleazy is more to my likeing in tone from the clips but from sound clips the Lon Dubh has the sound I want but also out of my price range. Even though I love to play Flute I have completly different preferences for each instrument in Flute I prefer a Rudall (woody sound not pure) and in whistle I prefer my Burke (aka the opposite of a Gen). I would prefer not to wait for whistles and I have emailed Phil Bleazy to see what he has in stock. I would not be able to wait a year for anything so that pretty much nixes Swayne. I know Paul will have something in stock but I dont' know if it is what I want maybe I will email him.

slowair · Post by **slowair** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:13 am

If you like back pressure, than Bleazy would be a good pick for you. They have LOTS!

Personaly, I like my Lon Dubh and Greenwoods. Lancewoods are on the way.

Mike

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:38 am

alespa wrote:I was thinking about getting a Bleazey blackwood . . . they have some in stock right now . . . is there a reason to consider NOT getting one in blackwood, and WHY would it be any different than a Greenwood, Abell or other blackwood whistle.

There's no reason whatsoever that you shouldn't get a Bleazey blackwood -- I'm just not a fan of blackwood. My biggest complaint with my Bleazey blackwood was that it had a tendency to clog, and the sound wasn't quite as mellow as the boxwood.

The Bleazey is VERY different from an Abell, and pretty different from a Greenwood. Its construction is all wood, including the mouthpiece and plug (okay, not including the rings and slide). So there's no metal touching your mouth or in the windway. The sound has much less of an edge to it than Abells; it's less sweet and shrill. The sound of my boxwood Bleazey and boxwood Greenwood are pretty similar, but the playing characteristics are different; you can lean into the bottom octave of the Bleazey much more and it has more backpressure in general.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:10 am

I have a Bleazey blackwood with silver fittings (second hand), and like it quite well. I also had a chance, about 14 months back, to play IDAwHOa's mopane Bleazeys in a variety of keys and was impressed enough so that I jumped on the blackwood when it became available.

I have a Busman bloodwood that is a bit breathy for slow airs but works well for jazzy tunes. However, I've played a Busman blackwood that had a much sweeter sound, more like my Bleazey blackwood. I also have a Busman Delrin that is closer to that one in tone. This has led me to think that denser materials produce a sweeter sound. Of course, Paul has said that he thinks that the precise blade shape and window dimensions may have more to do with the sound than the material does, and he certainly has experience with lots of different woods.

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:21 am

I am going to get the Bleazy in Blackwood that is what I have decided. He currently has Blackwood, Mopane, and Olive for the High D I prefer the Blackwood to the other two.